The braising cut that moonlights as a proper steak

Everyone files blade under slow cooking and moves on. Here's the secret: cooked hot and fast, rested properly, and sliced across the grain, blade eats like a steak twice its price. There's honest marbling through it and a big, beefy flavour the fancier cuts can't quite match. Ten minutes in the pan, a slice of garlicky herb butter melting over the top, and you've turned the most overlooked steaks in your share into Friday night dinner — in under half an hour.

25 mins 2 servings Prep 10 minsCook 15 minsMain CourseAustralian

Ingredients

  • 430g Your Farmer grass-fed blade steak (2 steaks)
  • 60g butter, softened
  • 1 small clove garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

Take the steaks out of the fridge, pat them very dry with paper towel and season generously on both sides.

430g blade steak

Mash the butter with the garlic, parsley, lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

60g butter1 clove garlic2 tbsp parsley1 tsp lemon zest

Heat the oil in a heavy pan over high heat until it's just starting to smoke — a proper crust needs a properly hot pan.

1 tbsp olive oil

Sear the steaks 3 minutes on the first side without moving them, then 3 minutes on the other, for medium-rare. Blade is best at medium-rare — past medium, the centre seam turns chewy.

Rest the steaks on a warm plate for 8 minutes with a thick slice of the herb butter melting over each. Don't skip this — resting is half the recipe with blade.

Slice across the grain on either side of the centre seam, spoon over the buttery resting juices, and serve.

Appears in

Pack B & Pack D shares — Blade (~430g)

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed beef share — vacuum-sealed steaks, roasts, mince and sausages, paddock-to-plate NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Grass Fed Beef Share
From $176.67

The Steak Hiding Inside a Braising Cut

Blade lives a double life. Most weeks it goes into the slow cooker, and fair enough — that seam of connective tissue through the middle melts beautifully over eight hours. But the muscle either side of that seam is the same one the flat-iron steak is cut from, and cooked hot, fast and rested, it's genuinely tender with more flavour than cuts costing twice as much. The rules are simple and non-negotiable: a dry surface, a smoking-hot pan, medium-rare, a proper rest, and slices taken across the grain. Do those five things and Your Farmer® blade — the ~430g pack from Pack B and Pack D shares — becomes the best-value steak night in the freezer. If quick steaks become your thing, blade steak is available by the pack too.

Swaps and Variations

The same treatment suits the BBQ steak (oyster blade) and rump from your share — same heat, same rest, same slicing rule. The butter is where you play: swap the parsley and lemon for a chopped anchovy and a pinch of chilli flakes, or smoked paprika and a little extra garlic. On the side, keep it simple — buttered greens, a rocket salad, or chips if it's that kind of Friday. For the full grounding in searing, resting and grain, our guide to cooking grass-fed beef is worth ten minutes of your time — grass-fed cooks a touch quicker than grain-fed, and it pays to know why.

Storage and Leftovers

Leftover steak keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the trick is not to reheat it — warmed-over blade toughens. Slice it cold and thin for sandwiches with mustard, or lay it over a salad of rocket and roast potatoes. The herb butter is worth doubling: roll the extra in baking paper, freeze the log for up to 3 months, and slice off rounds for steaks, veg or hot bread whenever you need a finish.

Blade steaks arrive ready for nights exactly like this in our beef subscription — Pack B and Pack D deliveries carry the pack.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know which way the grain runs?

Look for the direction of the muscle fibres — fine parallel lines on the surface of the meat. Slice at right angles to those lines. On blade the grain runs along the steak, so you'll mostly be slicing across its width.

Do I eat the line of gristle through the middle?

No — just eat around it, or cut either side of it as you slice. It only melts with long slow cooking; in a quick-seared steak it stays firm, and that's normal.

Can I cook blade steak past medium-rare?

You can, but it's the one cut where it really costs you. Beyond medium the meat tightens noticeably. If your table insists on well-done steak, this cut will disappoint — braise it instead.

My steaks are different thicknesses. How do I handle that?

Cook to feel rather than the clock — the thinner steak may need 30 to 60 seconds less per side. If in doubt, pull them early; they keep cooking as they rest.

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